


Day 12: Squeak

by RyuuShinobi



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 01:19:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17437163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyuuShinobi/pseuds/RyuuShinobi
Summary: Prompt: squeak. Zer0 investigates the source of a mysterious squeak.





	Day 12: Squeak

**Author's Note:**

> More writing that was posted on Tumblr in 2016. Fixed it up a bit and now I'm posting it here. Thanks for reading & enjoy!

There’s a soft squeaking coming from the Crimson Raider Headquarters. It’s quiet and occasional and mingled in among the other sounds of the bustling Sanctuary city, and Zer0 has to strain his ears to hear it, but there it is, once again. Small, odd, and different. He investigates, returning from the rooftops to the open balcony, and finds Maya sitting hunched over one of the desks. Zer0 stops and watches her. There’s no noise, but as he’s turning to walk away, there it is again.

 _Squeak_. _Squeeeeaaaak_.

“Maya, do you hear / that odd squeaking noise? Are you / the source of the noise?”

Maya jumps, and there’s a clatter on the desk as she spins around to face Zer0. “Zer0! I didn’t hear you come in. Well, I suppose we never hear you anyway,” she comments, giving Zer0 a smile. “You’d be correct, the squeaking is from me.” Maya turns back to the desk, and beckons Zer0 over to her.

“I found an old Maliwan SMG, one of the ones with the spinning side clips. It squeaks every time you spin it.” She demonstrates this by hooking a finger into the clip, and rotating it around. It squeaks as it spins. The clip pops off with ease, however, and Maya runs a clean cloth over the inside of the gun’s body. Pulling the cloth away, the distinct dirty gray streaks show build-up of dust, from years of sitting unused in a storage closet.

“Prime example of / remembering to take care / of your weaponry,” Zer0 says, and folds his arms over his chest. The blue-and-gray gun itself looks to be in decent condition, with minor scuffs and scratches from being dropped, but it looks like it’d still fire. There’s purple lights and a stain around the barrel that indicates a slag element.

Maya’s watching Zer0, and while she can’t tell what he’s thinking, or even looking at, she knows he’s admiring the gun the same way she did when she first found it. “It’s a beautiful Maliwan higher quality design. All Maliwan parts, it looks like. The slag chance on this baby must be impressive.” She chuckles, giving the gun a pat. “Thinking about cleaning it up a bit, and using it myself. It’s about time I replaced my old slag pistol.”

Zer0’s helmet bobs in a nod. “It will serve you well. / Clean and polish it, and / it will protect you. / Now, if you don’t mind, / I’ll follow my own advice, / and clean my sniper.” From his backpack, Zer0 pulls out a familiar dark olive green rifle with a red flower imprinted on the barrel. The aptly named Pimpernel. Zer0 sits himself down in a nearby chair, and sets to work, taking apart the rifle with the ease and precision of many, many years of practice.

Having returned to her own submachine gun, Maya picks up the cloth again and begins to polish circles into the honeycomb-patterned body. She takes special care in reaching the corners and crevices to clean as much dirt and debris she can reach. Beside her, Zer0 has the rifle’s scope in hand, and is showing the same tender care in cleaning the lenses.


End file.
